Pivotable antenna

ABSTRACT

A two terminal antenna in which the drive element is coupled to a pair of conductive members through a pair of one-piece blocks. Each of the blocks defines a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of the conductive members and one of the driven element terminals in perpendicular relationship. The walls of the block which define the openings provide a frictional surface permitting universal pivotal movement of the driven element and provide a retaining force to retain the driven element in a selected orientation.

I United States Patent [72] lnventor Frank H. Nienaber [56] ReferencesCited Munddeim UNITED STATES PATENTS P 876-490 2,604,593 7/1952Trowbridge 343/805 [22] Wed 1969 3 233 240 2 1966 R Id 343 eyno s /882 Xpaemed 3 346 863 10/1967 5' b ld 343/892 x [73] Assignee TelevisionLaboramfiese hm 1e 0 Primary Examiner-Herman Karl Saalbach AssistantExaminer-Marvin Nussbaum AttorneyGe0rge H. Gerstman ABSTRACT: A twoterminal antenna in which the drive ele- 2 2% Z S ment is coupled to apair of conductive members through a rawmg pair of one-piece blocks.Each of the blocks defines a pair of [52] U.S. Cl 343/702, mutuallyperpendicular openings for receiving one of the con- 343/741, 343/805,343/882 ductive members and one of the driven element terminals in (51]lut.Cl. l-l0lq 3/08, perpendicular relationship. The walls of the blockwhich HOlq 7/00 define the openings provide a frictional surfacepermitting [50] Field of Search 343/700, universal pivotal movement ofthe driven element and provide a retaining force to retain the drivenelement in a selected orientation.

PATENTEU JUN22I97I 3,587; 101

PIVOTABLE ANTENNA BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates toantennas, and more particularly, to an antenna having a novel couplingsystem which enables universal pivotal movement of the antenna. As usedherein, the term universal pivotal movement" is defined as movementabout a plurality of axes at the same time or at different times.

Although the present invention has been found to be particularlysuitable for use in connection with UHF loop antennas, it is to beunderstood that the invention can be applied to other types of antennaswhere universal pivotal movement is desired.

There is an increasing need for UHF indoor antennas which (1 can besimply connected to a television receiver, (2) allow the viewer toadjust the antenna to capture the signal desired, (3) are retained intheir adjusted position, (4) provide a relatively attractive appearance,(5) are capable of inexpensive production, and (6) are able to withstandthe forces resulting from adjustments by the viewer, without losingtheir property to remain in their adjusted position.

Some prior art antennas have been found disadvantageous because they usemetal clamps to provide a pivot axis, and repeated adjustability of theantenna may cause fatigue of such clamps. Some prior art antennas arenot capable of universal pivotal movement, but are only adjustable in avery limited manner. The antenna disclosed in U.S. Pat. 3,051,952 is anexample of this latter type.

One prior art antenna in wide use today is the UHF loop antennadisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,233,240. This antenna utilizes a pair ofcontinuous wire turns to couple the driven element to a pair ofconductors. Many people consider the wire coupling elements to begenerally unattractive. Further, this antenna cannot be used on atelevision set in which the rear of the set is at a distance from a wallthat is less than the diameter of the antenna loop. Also, if the wirecoupling elements touch one another, a short will necessarily occur.

The antenna of the present invention is advantageous in that it obviatesthe disadvantages of the antennas described in the above patents and ithas all of the six advantages mentioned above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a twoterminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes isprovided. The antenna includes a driven element and a pair of conductivemembers for connection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver.A pair of members are provided for coupling the driven element terminalsto the conductive members. Each of the coupling members comprises ablock defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receivingone of the conductive members and one of the driven element terminals inperpendicular relationship. The walls of the block defining the openingsprovide a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of thedriven element terminal and the conductive member about their own axesand providing a retaining force to retain the driven element terminalsand the conductive members in a selected orientation.

In the illustrated embodiment, each of the coupling blocks is formed ofa nonconductive plastic material, in a one-piece generally sphericalconstruction. The openings comprise slots which are mutuallyperpendicular and intersecting, and extend to the outer surface of theblocks.

In a first embodiment of the invention, each driven element terminal isin physical and electrical contact with a portion of its respectiveconductive member, with the contacting portions being grooved to providemeans for retaining the driven element terminal and the conductivemember within the block. In a second embodiment of the invention, theopenings in the block are spaced from each other a predetermineddistance to provide a capacitance that acts to block waves that arebelow a predetermined frequency.

In a third embodiment of the invention, the conductive members eachinclude a first portion and a second portion. The first portion isconnected to the second portion by a member defining a pair of mutuallyperpendicular openings for receiving one end of the first portion andone end of the second portion. The walls defining the openings provide africtional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of the first andsecond portions about their own axes and providing a retaining force toretainthe first and second portions in a selected orientation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS A more detailedexplanation of the invention is provided in the following descriptionand claims, and is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a television receiver havingconnected thereto an antenna embodying the principles of the presentinvention, with dotted lines showing alternative orientations of theantenna;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the coupling members ofthe antenna illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a plan view ofa pair of conductive members with a modifiedform of coupling members connected thereto;

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation of another embodiment of the invention,in which the openings in the coupling member illustrated in FIG. 5 arespaced from each other;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a television receiver,having connected thereto a modified form of antenna embodying theprinciples of the present invention, with a dotted line representationof an alternative orientation;

FIG. 7 is a bowtie form of antenna constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a linear dipole type of antenna constructed in accordance withthe principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. II, a UHF loop antenna I0 isshown connected to a television receiver 12. In the illustrativeembodiment, the antenna I0 comprises a driven element 145 which isformed of a 2-foot length of 0.080 inch tinned basic wire; in a loopshape. The terminals 16 and 18 of driven element 14 are connected toconductive members 20 and 22, respectively, by means of coupling members24 and 26, respectively, which coupling members are described in moredetail below. Conductive members 20 and 22 are affixed to the input UHFterminals 28 and 30, respectively, of television receiver 12.

Driven element 14 can be pivoted about a horizontal axis a-a that isparallel to the rear 32 of television receiver I2 (as indicated bydotted representation 14a) and can be pivoted about a horizontal axis bthat is perpendicular to rear 32 (as indicated by dotted representationMb). The driven element can be pivoted about each axis at separate timesor about both axes at the same time.

The coupling members 24 and 26, which enable such universal pivotalmovement, are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Although FIGS. 2 and 3 showcoupling member 24, coupling member 26 is identical thereto. In theillustrative embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, coupling member 24 comprises aone-piece generally spherical block formed of a nonconductive plasticmaterial. As a specific example, a urethane material such as DuPontAdiaprene could be used effectively.

Member 24 defines mutually perpendicular openings 34 and 36, which inthe illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, are slots which extend tothe outer surface of the member 24. Terminal I6 is positioned withinslot 36 and the end portion 38 of conductive member 20 is positionedwithin slot 34. Terminal l6 and end portion 38 are located in mutuallyperpendicular relationship, with terminal 16 overlying end portion 38(with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3) so that terminal 16 and end portion 38are blocked from moving out of the slots in a lateral direction.

In order to aid in preventing terminal 16 and end portion 38 from movingout of the slots in the longitudinal directions of the slots, terminal16 defines a groove 40 and portion 38 defines a groove 42, which grooves40 and 42 intersect and coact with each other as illustrated mostclearly in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The unique construction of coupling members 24 and 26 enables universalpivotal movement of driven element 14, and the driven element will beretained in the orientation selected by the user. To achieve suchretention, the slots are dimensioned so that the walls defining theslots hug the driven element and the end portion 38 tightly. The unit isattractive in appearance, and the use of nonconductive material in theformation of the coupling members 24 and 26 is effective to alleviatethe problem of shorting should the coupling members contact each other.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, a resilient member 44 isconnected to coupling members 24 and 26 to maintain a predeterminedamount of spacing between the coupling members. It is preferred thatspacing member 44 be generally S- shaped and formed integrally withcoupling members 24 and 26 during the molding of the coupling members.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5, the couplingmembers are constructed so as to filter out waves that are below apredetermined frequency (high pass filter). In this embodiment, thecoupling members are identical, and coupling member 24' is shown as aplastic generally spherical block defining openings 34' and 36 which arenonintersecting and which are of a size to snugly receive end portion38' of conductive member 20 and terminal 16 respectively. Terminal l6and end portion 38 are spaced a distance a, which spacing is such thatthere is a capacitance that effectively passes the desired frequenciesbut blocks waves below a predetermined frequency. Distance d depends onthe dielectric constant of the plastic material, the dimensions ofterminal l6 and end portion 38, and the wave frequency.

One of the problems that has often been encountered in using prior artUI-IF antennas is that such antennas cannot be moved by the viewer tothe most effective orientation because the rear portion of thetelevision receiver is too close to a wall to permit freedom of movementof the driven element. To obviate this problem, the antenna illustratedin FIG. 6, which has reference numerals that are identical to thereference numerals of the FIG. 1 antenna where the parts are identical,is connected to the television antenna terminals 28 and 30 by means ofunique conductive members 200 and 220. Since conducting member 22a isidentical to conducting member a, only the latter will be discussedhere.

Conducting member 20a includes a first portion 48 and a second portion50, which first and second portions are coupled by a coupling member 52.Coupling member 52 is identical to coupling member 24, described above.First portion 48 is coupled to driven element 14 by coupling member 24.The other end of second portion 50 is connected to terminal 28 of thetelevision receiver 12.

First portion 48 is a length that is greater than the distance betweenterminal 28 and the top 52 of the television receiver. It is alsogreater in length than the distance between terminal 28 and the nearestside 54 of the television receiver. In this manner, the driven element14 can be located above the television receiver, as shown in FIG. 6, orit can be located on the side of the receiver. This enables the drivenelement to avoid the shadow" caused by the television receiver and havethe ability to be pivoted in axes which lie above or on the side of thetelevision receiver 12. It can be seen that the driven element can bepivoted to the position illustrated in dotted lines as 140 in whichposition it enables the rear 32 of the television receiver to be moreclosely adjacent a wall than was possible with prior art antennas. Thedriven element can also be pivoted about an axis perpendicular to therear 32 of the television receiver, as the blocks 24 and 26 enable it tohave universal pivotal movement.

The present invention is adaptable to other antennas than loop typeantennas. For example, FIG. 7 shows "bowtie" type of antenna 60 in whichconductive element 62 is universally pivotable with respect toconnecting member 64 and conductive element 66 is universally pivotablewith respect to conducting member 68. Element 62 is coupled to member 64by coupling member 24 which is identical to the coupling member shown inFIG. 2, and element 66 is coupled to member 68 by coupling member 26which is also identical to coupling member 24.

Likewise, a linear dipole antenna 70, as shown in FIG. 8, can beconstructed in accordance with the present invention. In thisembodiment, conductive elements 72 and 74 are coupled to conductivemembers 76 and 78, respectively, by coupling members 24 and 26,respectively, which are identical to coupling member 24 illustrated inFIG. 2.

The conductive members in the FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 embodiments could havetwo portions as discussed above in connection with the embodiment ofFIG. 6.

Although various illustrative embodiments of the invention have beenshown and described, it is to be understood that various modificationsand substitutions may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the novel spirit and scope of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes,which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members forconnection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair ofcoupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven elementand each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductivemembers, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining apair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of saidconductive members and one of said driven element terminals inperpendicular relationship, the walls of said block defining saidopenings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotalmovement of said driven element terminals and said conductive membersabout their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain saiddriven element terminals and said conductive members in a selectedorientation.

2. An antenna as described in claim 1, wherein said blocks comprise aone-piece, generally spherical member.

3. An antenna as described in claim 1, said blocks being formed of anonconductive material.

4. An antenna as described in claim 2, said blocks being formed of anonconductive material.

5. An antenna as described in claim 1, said openings comprising slotsextending to the outer surface of said blocks.

6. An antenna as described in claim 5, wherein said slots of each blockare mutually perpendicular and intersecting.

7. An antenna as described in claim 1, wherein said openings of eachblock are intersecting.

8. An antenna as described in claim 1, including spacing means couplingboth blocks and preventing said blocks from being spaced more than apredetermined distance.

9. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes,which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members forconnection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair ofcoupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven elementand each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductivemembers, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining apair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of saidconductive members and one of said driven element terminals inperpendicular relationship, said openings intersecting each other and aportion of each driven element terminal being in physical and electricalcontact with a portion of the respective providing a retaining force toretain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in aselected orientation.

10. An antenna as described in claim 9, wherein both of said contactingportions are grooved.

11. An antenna as described in claim 9, wherein said blocks compriseone-piece, generally spherical members.

12. An antenna as described in claim 9, said blocks being formed of anonconductive plastic material.

13. An antenna as described in claim 9, said openings com prising slotsextending to the outer surface of said blocks.

14. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes,which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members forconnection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair ofcoupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven elementand each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductivemembers, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining apair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of saidconductive members and one of said driven element terminals inperpendicular relationship, said block being formed of a nonconductivematerial and said openings being spaced from each other a predetermineddistance to provide a capacitance that acts to bloclt waves that arebelow a predetermined frequency, the wall defining said openingsdefining a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement ofsaid driven element terminals and said conductive members about theirown axes and providing a retaining force to retain said driven elementterminals and said conductive members in a selected orientation.

15. An antenna as described in claim 14, wherein said blocks compriseone-piece, generally spherical members.

16. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes,which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members forconnection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver, saidconductive members each including a first portion and a second portion,and means frictionally connecting said first portion in pivotalrelationship with said second portion; a pair of coupling members eachconnected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling itsrespective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of saidcoupling members defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings forreceiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven elementterminals in perpendicular relationship, the walls defining saidopenings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotalmovement of said driven element terminals and said conductive membersabout their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain saiddriven element terminals and said conductive members in a selectedorientation.

17. An antenna as described in claim 16, wherein said frictionalconnecting means comprises a member defining a pair of mutuallyperpendicular openings for receiving one end of said first portion andone end of said second portion, the walls defining said openingsproviding a frictional surface permitting relative pivotal movement ofsaid first and second portions about their own axes and providing aretaining force to retain said first and second portions in a selectedorientation.

18. An antenna as described in claim 17, wherein said frictionalconnecting means comprises one-piece, generally spherical members.

19. An antenna as described in claim 17, wherein said openings of saidcoupling members and said frictional connecting means comprise slotsextending to the outer surfaces thereofv 20. An antenna as described inclaim 20, wherein said slots are mutually perpendicular andintersecting.

21. An antenna as described in claim 16, including resilient spacingmeans coupling said coupling members and preventing said couplingmembers from being spaced more than a predetermined distance.

22. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes,which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members forconnection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair ofcoupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven elementand each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductivemembers, each of said coupling members comprising a onepiece, generallyspherical nonconductive block defining a pair of mutually perpendicularand intersecting slots which extend to the outer surface of said blockfor receiving one of said conductive members and one of said drivenelement terminals in perpendicular relationship, a portion of eachdriven element terminal being in physical and electrical contact with aportion of the respective conductive member, one of said contactingportions being grooved to provide means for retaining said drivenelement terminal and said conductive member within said block, the wallsdefining said openings providing a frictional surface permittingrelative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and saidconductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining forceto retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in aselected orientation.

23. An antenna as described in claim 22, wherein said conductive memberseach include a first portion and a second portion, and meansfrictionally connecting said first portion in pivotal relationship withsaid second portion.

1. A two terminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes,which comprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members forconnection to the input terminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair ofcoupling members each connected to one terminal of the driven elementand each coupling its respective terminal to one of said conductivemembers, each of said coupling members comprising a block defining apair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one of saidconductive members and one of said driven element terminals inperpendicular relationship, the walls of said block defining saidopenings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotalmovement of said driven element terminals and said conductive membersabout their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain saiddriven element terminals and said conductive members in a selectedorientation.
 2. An antenna as described in claim 1, wherein said blockscomprise a one-piece, generally spherical member.
 3. An antenna asdescribed in claim 1, said blocks being formed of a nonconductivematerial.
 4. An antenna as described in claim 2, said blocks beingformed of a nonconductive material.
 5. An antenna as described in claim1, said openings comprisIng slots extending to the outer surface of saidblocks.
 6. An antenna as described in claim 5, wherein said slots ofeach block are mutually perpendicular and intersecting.
 7. An antenna asdescribed in claim 1, wherein said openings of each block areintersecting.
 8. An antenna as described in claim 1, including spacingmeans coupling both blocks and preventing said blocks from being spacedmore than a predetermined distance.
 9. A two terminal antenna that ispivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element;a pair of conductive members for connection to the input terminals of awave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to oneterminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminalto one of said conductive members, each of said coupling memberscomprising a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openingsfor receiving one of said conductive members and one of said drivenelement terminals in perpendicular relationship, said openingsintersecting each other and a portion of each driven element terminalbeing in physical and electrical contact with a portion of therespective conductive member, one of said contacting portions beinggrooved to provide means for retaining said driven element terminal andsaid conductive member within said block, the walls defining saidopenings providing a frictional surface permitting relative pivotalmovement of said driven element terminals and said conductive membersabout their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain saiddriven element terminals and said conductive members in a selectedorientation.
 10. An antenna as described in claim 9, wherein both ofsaid contacting portions are grooved.
 11. An antenna as described inclaim 9, wherein said blocks comprise one-piece, generally sphericalmembers.
 12. An antenna as described in claim 9, said blocks beingformed of a nonconductive plastic material.
 13. An antenna as describedin claim 9, said openings comprising slots extending to the outersurface of said blocks.
 14. A two terminal antenna that is pivotableabout a plurality of axes, which comprises: a driven element; a pair ofconductive members for connection to the input terminals of a wavesignal receiver; a pair of coupling members each connected to oneterminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminalto one of said conductive members, each of said coupling memberscomprising a block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openingsfor receiving one of said conductive members and one of said drivenelement terminals in perpendicular relationship, said block being formedof a nonconductive material and said openings being spaced from eachother a predetermined distance to provide a capacitance that acts toblock waves that are below a predetermined frequency, the wall definingsaid openings defining a frictional surface permitting relative pivotalmovement of said driven element terminals and said conductive membersabout their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain saiddriven element terminals and said conductive members in a selectedorientation.
 15. An antenna as described in claim 14, wherein saidblocks comprise one-piece, generally spherical members.
 16. A twoterminal antenna that is pivotable about a plurality of axes, whichcomprises: a driven element; a pair of conductive members for connectionto the input terminals of a wave signal receiver, said conductivemembers each including a first portion and a second portion, and meansfrictionally connecting said first portion in pivotal relationship withsaid second portion; a pair of coupling members each connected to oneterminal of the driven element and each coupling its respective terminalto one of said conductive members, each of said coupling membersdefining a pair of mutually perpendicular openings for receiving one ofsaid conductive members and one of said driven element terminals inperpendicular relationship, the walls defining said openings providing africtional surface permitting relative pivotal movement of said drivenelement terminals and said conductive members about their own axes andproviding a retaining force to retain said driven element terminals andsaid conductive members in a selected orientation.
 17. An antenna asdescribed in claim 16, wherein said frictional connecting meanscomprises a member defining a pair of mutually perpendicular openingsfor receiving one end of said first portion and one end of said secondportion, the walls defining said openings providing a frictional surfacepermitting relative pivotal movement of said first and second portionsabout their own axes and providing a retaining force to retain saidfirst and second portions in a selected orientation.
 18. An antenna asdescribed in claim 17, wherein said frictional connecting meanscomprises one-piece, generally spherical members.
 19. An antenna asdescribed in claim 17, wherein said openings of said coupling membersand said frictional connecting means comprise slots extending to theouter surfaces thereof.
 20. An antenna as described in claim 20, whereinsaid slots are mutually perpendicular and intersecting.
 21. An antennaas described in claim 16, including resilient spacing means couplingsaid coupling members and preventing said coupling members from beingspaced more than a predetermined distance.
 22. A two terminal antennathat is pivotable about a plurality of axes, which comprises: a drivenelement; a pair of conductive members for connection to the inputterminals of a wave signal receiver; a pair of coupling members eachconnected to one terminal of the driven element and each coupling itsrespective terminal to one of said conductive members, each of saidcoupling members comprising a one-piece, generally sphericalnonconductive block defining a pair of mutually perpendicular andintersecting slots which extend to the outer surface of said block forreceiving one of said conductive members and one of said driven elementterminals in perpendicular relationship, a portion of each drivenelement terminal being in physical and electrical contact with a portionof the respective conductive member, one of said contacting portionsbeing grooved to provide means for retaining said driven elementterminal and said conductive member within said block, the wallsdefining said openings providing a frictional surface permittingrelative pivotal movement of said driven element terminals and saidconductive members about their own axes and providing a retaining forceto retain said driven element terminals and said conductive members in aselected orientation.
 23. An antenna as described in claim 22, whereinsaid conductive members each include a first portion and a secondportion, and means frictionally connecting said first portion in pivotalrelationship with said second portion.